Book-holder.



B. F. CRANE.

BOOK HOLDER.

APPLIOATIOH Hum 001. 18, 1909.

Patented May so, 1911'.

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UNITED STATES PATEN T OFFICE.

EDWIN F. CRANE, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

B0 OK-HOLIDER.

I '0 all whom it may concern:

Be -it known that I, EDWIN F. CRANE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Book Holders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in book-holders, and it has for its object the production of a simple, inexpensive and durable device of this character which is adjustable to hold books of difierent sizes and also adjustable to light. A book-holder of this kind is very desirable for use on desks in school-rooms, as it assures proper placement with reference to the eyes and consequently prevents eye strain. hen fastened to a desk, its use permits pupils to sit in natural position, thus assisting in their proper development by reason of its preventing round shoulders, curvature of the spine, and unequal development of the chest and shoulders, all of which would tend to check the proper action of the circulating, respiratory and digestive organs of the body. Moreover, it promotes cleanliness, saves the binding of books and prevents soiling and wearing the leaves by continual handling.

The invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts to be hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,-Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved book-holder, showing in dotted lines the manner of holding a book therein. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view of the lower end of the brace-arm. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line w-w, Fig.2. Fig. 5 is a section taken on line wm, Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is an enlarged section taken on liney y, Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a section taken on line ze, Fi 2.

I teferring now to the drawings in detail, like numerals of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

The holder comprises essentially a base 8, a support 9 held to said base, a bracemember 10 bracing said support from said base, and a retaining-member 11 on said base for retaining the book in open condition at any desiredplace.

The base 8 is preferably stamped from a piece of sheet-metal and given a rectangular Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 18, 1909.

Patented May 30, 1911.

Serial No. 523,274.

outline. It is. raised between its marginal portions to provide an elevated center 12 surrounded by a marginal base-flange 13. At one point, preferably one of the corners of the base, a securing-screw lt is passed through said flange to take into the top of the desk the holder is to be fastened to, thus permitting the base to be swung about with said screw as its pivot. Pivotally mounted on said base is the book-support 9 which is preferably formed of stifii-wire curved rear ward midlength, as at 15, thence upward at opposite ends of said rearwardly-curved por tion, as at 16, thence laterally in opposite directions, as at 17, thence recurved at the outer ends of said laterally-directed portions, as at 18, thence downward from said recurved portions to the base, as at 19, and finally inward to form pivots 20 which are held in loops 21 formed by cutting a pair of slits near each side of the base and bulging the metal between each pair of slits upward, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The rearwarcllycurved portion 15, the upwardly-directed portion 16 and the laterally-directed portion 17 constitute the cross or top member of the support, which I will designate 22, and the downwardly-directed portions 19 act as the sides of said support.

The brace-member 10 is preferably formed of a bar of metal having a reduced inverted T-shaped lower end 23, and a longitudinal slot 2 1. Said T-shaped lower end serves to pivotally and removably hold said bracemember to the base, and for this purpose, said base has a T-shaped opening 25 through which the lateral arms 26 of said T-shaped lower end are passed, which arms bear against the under side of the base to prevent accidental detachment of the brace-member therefrom. The stem-portion 27 of said T-shaped opening is longer than the transverse bar formed by said lateral-arms and said transverse-bar is longer than the distance between the outer ends of the laterallyextended portions 28 of said T-shaped opening. It is necessary, therefore, in applying said brace-member to the base, to pass the T-shaped end thereof lengthwise through the stem-portion 27 of the T-shaped opening to bring the lateral-arms of said bracemember into a plane beneath the underside of the base; to then draw the brace-member rearward against the rear end of said stemportion; and finally, to give the brace-member a one-quarter turn to bring said lateral arms underneath and in contact with the underside of said base.

Held to the rearwardly-curved intermediate portion of the support 9 is a screw 29 which has an enlarged head 30 provided with an opening 31 to permit of its being passed over one end of the wire forming the support and along the same to its proper position and which also permits of its turning on the support. Said screw is passed through the slot 24 in the brace-member and a nut 32 is applied to its free projecting end to securely connect said member and the support together. It will be noticed that both the brace-member 10 and the support 9 are pivotally attached to the base, but as they are attached to different points of the base, the brace-member holds the support firmly in any adjusted position after the nut 32 is tightened upon its screw.

Stamped from the base 8, preferably at points directly in advance of the pivotal points of connection of said support 9 to said base, are two upstanding lips 33 against which the lower end of an open book placed against said support isadapted to bear, and said base has centrally therein between said pivotal points a depression 34 whose bottom slopes rearward and in which the lower end of the back of the bookis to be placed, as clearly shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2. The base 8 has also an elongated depression or groove 35 formed therein which extends from the depression 34 to the front edge of the=base and in said groove, at a point between its ends, the metal base is pierced to provide an aperture 36 which is threaded for a purpose to presently appear.

The retainingemeinber 11 of the device comprises two parts 37, 38; the part 37 being a longitudinally movable bar 39 having a pair of upstanding ears 40 at its front end, a lip 41 rising therefrom in front of and in contact with the front edges of said ears, and a longitudinal slot 42 in rear of said ears; while the part 38 is a vertically swinging leaf-holder comprising a lever 43 pivoted at its front end between said ears and having opposite laterally-extended arms 44. Passing through the slot 42 and, taking into the threaded aperture 36 is a thumb screw 42 which, when loosened, permits the retaining-member 11,to be adjusted bodily toward or from the book support 9, so that books of various sizes can be held open against the support. After adjustment is affected, the screw'42 is tightened and the swingingof the part 38 then holds the book open at the desired place.

The vertically swinging part 38 is preferably formed of a single piece of sheet metal of the proper outline doubled upon itself to form the lever 43 and slitted through a portion of its length to permit the two thicknesses of metal to be bent at right angles to the lever portion to form the arms 44. The pivoted end of said lever is enlarged as at 45, to form a stop which serves to limit the downward movement of said lever, and said end has also an offset portion forming a shoulder 46 adapted to bear against the upper edge of the lip 41 at the front end of part 37; said shoulder serving to prevent the upward movement of said lever. While the shoulder 46 serves to limit the upward movement of said lever, it also acts in connection with a slot 47 formed in said lever, to lock the latter in depressed position. Said slot permits the lever to be moved lengthwise on the part 37 so that the shoulder 46 may be brought into or moved out of engagement with the lip 41. hen the lever 43 is swung down into contact with the leaves of a book placed against the support and then moved forward to bring the shoulder 46 of said lever in contact with the lip 41, the book is held open at the desired place and the user has free use of his hands for writing or other work. When said lever is depressed and in contact with the open book, the pivotpin 48 which is passed through said lever and fastened in the upstanding ears 40 is at the rear end of slot 47 and the shoulder 46 of said lever is in engagement with the lip 41. The lever must therefore be drawn rearward so as to bring said pin to the front end of said slot and move the shoulder 46 on said lever out of contact with the lip 41, before the lever is swung up out of contact with said book.

By arranging the base to swing on the desk or other article of furniture which it may be fastened to, the open book may be adjusted to face the light, and by adjusting the support on the pivoted base-member, the book may be set at any desired inclination. The inanner of connecting the retainingmember 11 tothe base, also permits of books of different sizes being securely held on the device in open position.

Having thus described my invention, what 1 claim is,-

1. A book-holder comprising a base, a support pivotally secured to said base, means for holding said support at any desired inclination between two extremes, and a bookretaining member on said base bodily adjustable toward and from said support.

2. A book-holder comprising a base, a wire support pivotally secured to said base, a screw on said support, a brace-member rising from said base and having an opening through which said screw is passed, a nut applied to said screw, and means to retain a book open against said support.

3. A book-holder comprising a base, a support formed of wire fashioned to provide side-members pivotally secured at their lower ends to said base and a cross member connecting the upper ends of said side-members and having a rearwardly-curved portion midlength, a brace-member pivotally secured to said base and adjustably connected to said support, and means to retain a book open against said support.

4. A book-holder comprising a base, a wire-support pivotally held to said base, a screw having a transverse opening through which the wire of said support is passed, a pivoted brace-member through which said screw is passed, a nut applied to said screw, and means to retain a book open against said support.

5. A book-holder comprising a base having an opening, a support pivotally held to said base, and a brace-arm adjustably connected with said support and having a T- shaped portion at its lower end extending through said opening.

6. A book-holder comprising a base, a support rising from said base, a book retaining-member on said base having a bar ongitudinally-movable on said base and a lever pivotally mounted on said bar and adapted to bear against an open book placed against said support.

7 A hookholder comprising a sheet-metal base having a depression stamped therein, a support rising from said base, a bar in said depression having a longitudinal slot, a securing-screw passing through said slot and taking into said base, and a lever pivotally secured to said bar and adapted to bear against an open book placed against said su ort.

8. A book-holder comprising a base, a sup port on said base, a bar adjustable toward and from said support and provided with a pair of upstanding ears at its front end and a lever pivotally held at its front end hetween said ears and having laterally-disposed arms at its rear end.

9. A book-holder comprising a base, a support on said base, a bar adjustable toward and from said support and provided with a pair of upstanding ears at its front end and with an upstanding lip in front of and in contact with said ears, a book-retaining lever having its front end held between said ears and provided with a slot at its front end and with a downwardly-facing shoulder at its front edge, and a pivot-pin passed through said ears and said slot, sald lever being adapted to be moved lengthwise to bring said shoulder in contact with said upstanding lip.

10. A book-holder comprising a base, a support on said base, a bar adjustable toward and from said support and provided with a pair of upstanding ears at its front end and with an upstanding lip in front of and in contact with said ears, a book retaining lever having a slotted enlarged front end adapted to bear against said base and a shoulder on its front edge adapted to engage said upstanding lip, and a pivot-pin passed through said ears and the slot of said lever.

11. A book-holder comprising a sheet metal base having upstandlng lips stamped therefrom, a support in a plane in rear of said lips, and means to hold a book open against said support.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWIN F. CRANE.

Witnesses:

ELLA C. PLUECKHAHN, EMIL NEUHART.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

